Bar Coded Boarding Pass

BCBP (bar-coded boarding pass) is the name of the standard used by more than 200 airlines. BCBP defines the 2-Dimensional (2D) bar code printed on a boarding pass or sent to a mobile phone for electronic boarding passes.

BCBP was part of the IATA Simplifying the Business program, which issued an industry mandate for all boarding passes to be bar coded. This was achieved in 2010.

Airlines and third parties use a barcode reader to read the bar codes and capture the data. Reading the bar code usually takes place in the boarding process, but can also happen when entering the airport security checkpoints.

The standard was originally published in 2005 by IATA and updated in 2008 to include symbologies for mobile phones and in 2009 to include a field for a digital signature in the mobile bar codes. Future developments of the standard will include a near field communication format.

Paper boarding passes are issued either by agents at a check-in counter, self-service kiosks, or by airline web check-in site. BCBP can be printed at the airport by an ATB (Automated Ticket & Boarding Pass) printer or a direct thermal printer, or by a personal laser printer. The symbology for paper boarding passes is PDF417. IATA's Board of Governors' mandate stated that all the IATA member airlines would be capable of issuing BCBP by the end of 2008, and all boarding passes would contain the 2D bar code by the end of 2010. The BCBP standard were published in 2005. It has been progressively adopted by airlines: End 2005, 9 airlines were BCBP capable; 32 by end 2006; 101 by end 2007; and 200 by end 2008 (source: IATA).

'Paper is out, Cellphones are in' read the NY Times on March 18, 2008. BCBP can also be sent to mobile phones, via MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), email, WAP Push or via an app. IATA's BCBP standard defines the three symbologies accepted for mobile phones: Aztec code, Datamatrix and QR code. The United Nations International Telecommunications Union expected mobile phone subscribers to hit the 4 billion mark by the end of 2008.

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